In the Kitchen: Absurdly Simply Salad Giada

It's summer. So. Salads.

I've been making this one for some time. I got it from Giada on FoodTV (yes, I do sometimes watch FoodTV: Giada and Ina). (Yes, I am in the "Enough With Rachael Already!!" camp.")

This is one of those simple marvels of chemistry: the pasta water "cooks" the greens ever so slightly, just enough to enhance their flavor and that of the tomatoes. This is also a recipe in which you want to use the best sun-dried tomatoes you can find. I use Mediterranean Organic in olive oil. They're pricey, but worth every penny.

I didn't have any goat cheese so I left that out. I was going to put some proscuitto on, but discovered we were out. But I did find sliced smoked ham, so I cut some thin strips of that and added it at the last minute (so it wouldn't get all wet and wonky).

I put the salad on the table along with a big bowl of cherries (because life is just a) and a bottle of white wine and hopped on the stairway to heaven.